


Clearing The Air

by puptart



Category: Zombies Run!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Domestic, F/F, Female Runner Five
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-22
Updated: 2015-03-22
Packaged: 2018-03-19 00:26:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3589437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puptart/pseuds/puptart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Sam calls Five and Sara's relationship into question, Five finds herself wondering if there even is one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Clearing The Air

**Author's Note:**

> So this all came about from an ask meme I did on tumblr. The prompt was "Sara/Five 'Don't trust me'"
> 
> Original fic I posted: http://puptart.tumblr.com/post/111438247795/hmmm-whats-the-most-angsty-prompt-i-can-give
> 
> I tried to clean it up and bit and make it flow a bit more smoothly, so there are some small differences.

Most couple had anniversaries. Jack and Eugene had roughly nine that they acknowledged throughout the year (not including the ones they had with Phil and Zoe), Sam and Alice celebrated the day she asked him out, and Simon and Janine celebrated theirs on the day the had their first Keisha St. Cloud concert date.

Sara and Five didn’t have an anniversary.

This was mostly fine, Five didn’t much care and hadn’t even realized until Sam had pointed it out.

She’d been sitting with him on the couch, half keeping an eye on the baby, half watching the movie Sam had put on. He and Paula and Maxine were all exhausted in the aftermath of the baby being born. Paula was working part time at the labs rather than take her full maternity leave, leaving Sam as a very pleased stay at home Dad, running a podcast from his bedroom in the little spare time he had.

So she was pretty sure it was just exhaustion clearing away what tact he normally had rather than any malice when he asked if she and Sara were _really_ dating. Five was stunned into silence. The question took her by surprise, not only because it had come out of nowhere, but also because she hadn't been aware there was any question as far as what was between her and Sara. Sam, after a very long pause, eventually realized he had made a misstep.

"Wait, no, sorry!" He said quickly. "I mean, well…"

"We’re dating Sam." Five said dryly. For some reason though, as soon as she said it, she found herself sort of wondering as well. She couldn't ever recall Sara calling herself Five’s girlfriend, or partner, or anything. But to say they _weren't_  dating felt odd and completely wrong. It might not have bothered her so much if she had a clear answer to give him. Rather than admit to not being sure though, she turned to him and asked, "What do you consider _really_ dating?”

"Well," He said, thinking hard. "I suppose there’s the going out together." Check. She and Sara went out together all the time. "You both need to have feelings for one another." Check. Probably. Five frowned. No. Definitely. "And uh, you know, couple stuff!"

In lieu of a verbal response, Five just ticked her eyebrow up. Being fluent in her facial expressions, he quickly elaborated.

"Well, an anniversary for instance!" He looked pretty pleased with himself for coming up with that one. Five tapped her chin.

"That seems an odd requirement." She said. Sam shook his head, making a careless gesture with his hands.

"Well, it’s not _required_. Just like, I dunno, one of many things couples do.” He shrugged. “Look, honestly, it was a stupid question. I shouldn't have asked, and I’m sorry.”

Five smiled. It was hard to stay mad at him, especially when Bea started fussing and the dark circles under his eyes seemed suddenly deeper. When he made to pull himself to his feet to check on her, Five placed a hand on his arm and went to check herself.

"She just ate." Sam told her as he settled back into his seat. She wasn’t wet either, or injured from what Five could tell. Not too warm, or too cold. "She’s probably just ready for a nap."

Five lifted the child into her arms, bouncing her on her hips. It was endlessly amusing to watch the chubby cheeks and dark curls bob up and down with the movement. As she stood, swaying and rocking little Bea, it reminded her that Sara had two kids of her own. Thomas and Geoff, from her ex-husband.

It reminded her that she’d never actually met them. Sara talked about them often enough, in that far off wistful way she spoke with on long runs near the shore. Sara visited them often too, but her irregular working schedule and frequent business trips made it difficult to have them stay at her house. Instead, because she and her ex were still on very good terms, Sara would disappear every once in a while for long stretches of time to stay with him and her boys in their childhood home.

Five had never before felt threatened by any of it. But it did seem strange that she and Sara had been together for so long without her introducing Five to her family.  It was sort of the done thing, Five would think, when a relationship was serious. As innocent a question as she knew it had been, Sam’s uncertainty about the state of her relationship sparked insecurity in Five that she hadn't had before.

As soon as Bea nodded off, Five went to place her in her crib for a nap, resolving to speak to Sara about it. Neither of them was particularly good at communication, Sara as a result of her job and Five because… well, sometimes it was just hard to talk. Still, hardly ten minutes of pondering and Five could feel it eating at her insides. It needed to be dealt with.

"Leaving already?" Sam asked, sounding half-asleep as Five gathered up her things. "Listen, I’m _really_ sorry-“

"It’s fine." Five cut him off with a placating smile. While he had technically upset her, Sam was her best friend. It wasn’t out of line for him to ask after her relationships. She had grilled him about where he stood with Maxine and Paula before, out of concern and friendly interest. She couldn't hold it against him when he did the same.He looked unconvinced and upset, but didn’t protest as she ruffled his hair before seeing herself out. "Take a nap." She called out before closing the door behind her.

Five truly, honestly meant to bring it up to Sara that night. Hours of mulling it over after leaving Sam’s made it clear that it playing it off casually wouldn’t work. So the plan was to ask before getting ready for bed, just in case things didn't go well. Five didn't want to have to make the long trek to her flat in her pajamas, after all, if it came to that.

For all that Five spent most of her time at Sara’s, ate, slept, and basically _lived_ at Sara’s, she had never officially moved in. Sara gave her a key before they ever started this thing between them. Mostly so Five could water her plants when Sara was away (she seemed so temporary in ways, here and gone within the same moment), or so had been the given excuse. Even back then there had been a lot of significance in the way she had pressed the key, warm from her pocket, into Five’s palm, smiling like she was giving her a secret.

And that was just one of the things that made it so hard to figure out where they stood. They were certainly dating now, she assumed, but Five had no memory of how it all started. In her mind, she remembered meeting Sara and the disastrous month following, before they were suddenly attached at the hip. Sure, she remembered the first time they kissed, the first time they tumbled into bed amid gales of laughter, but that didn't really feel like the beginning to her. It really felt like there was no beginning at all, that they had simply fallen into their rightful places at each other’s side.

Sara kept looking at her. Five continued scrubbing at the pans and bowls from dinner, wishing the food had stuck a little more so she could pretend to be preoccupied getting it off. Instead, she more or less openly ignored Sara staring her down.

Dinner was usually filled with easy chatter, but Five just had not been able to say much of anything which Sara, of course, had picked up on. She had meant to bring it up. Dinner seemed like as good a time as any to broach the topic of where they stood with each other, relationship wise. She lost her nerve halfway through her pasta and decided to scrap the whole plan until another time. All her nervous energy that had built up over the course of the day had fizzled out from there, leaving her sorely tired by the time they were clearing the table.

“D’you mind putting away tonight?” She asked, finally looking to Sara once she'd turned the tap off. Sara’s clever eyes looked her over. It was for show, Five was certain. Sara had just spent the last half hour looking at her intently. Any knowledge to be gained from her appearance alone had been gained.

“Sure, Five.” She said agreeably, drying the last pan. “You look a bit tired. Go on and take a shower first. We’ll call it an early night.”

Five should have known it would never be that easy. She was just too relieved for the easy out that she snatched it, which Sara must have known she would. Clever Sara, taking advantage of Five’s fatigue to lull her into a false sense of ease.

Halfway through wetting her hair, the bathroom door opened and Sara slipped in. This was not uncommon in and of itself, but Five didn’t bother getting her hopes up that the shower was about to get steamier. Exasperating as she could be at time, Five had to admire Sara for foiling Five’s exit strategy. Naked and soapy wasn’t exactly any better than pajamas when it came to running from one’s problems.

"Five," Sara said, almost indulgently. Her arms were crossed, hip leaning against the counter as she watched Five. "Let’s have it. What’s going on in your head, hon?"

"Can’t hear you." Five replied, indicating the sprayer with one hand as she worked shampoo into her hair with the other. Sara walked over, slid the shower door open a bit, and reached for the handle. "Stop."

"Then talk." Sara said, hand hovering as droplets of water dotted her skin. Five sighed. Her desire to not get sprayed in the face with ice cold water outweighed her reluctance to ask the question on her mind.

"Sara, are we… Are we a serious couple?"

Sara’s face scrunched up into mild confusion. “Serious?”

"Yeah." Five shrugged, feeling stupid. "Committed is the word, I suppose."

"You want to know if we’re committed?" Sara asked dryly, making Five feel all of two inches tall. She put the flat of her hand under the showerhead, sending a spray of water into Sara’s face. She reared back with a sputter. Childish, but Five was more than a little irate.

"It’s not as if we've ever _talked_ about it, Sara!” She snapped. Suddenly, all the little anxieties and uncertainties welled up and came spilling out. “Christ, I mean, I know I love you, and you act like you love me, but we’ve never really said it. I have never met your kids, Sara. You disappear without notice and don’t always let me know you’ve taken off until days later. These are things I would expect from a casual hook up.” Sara blinked. Five took a breath and continued. "I can’t accept it from you though. I care too much." She bit her lip, close to tears but refusing to shed them.

Sara looked… unsurprised. But not uncaring. She turned away, staring at the towel rack for a long moment. Most people would have found the silence damning, especially from Sara, who always had something to say. Her mind worked ten times faster than anyone Five knew. She was always able to see the best solution to a given problem before Five could come up with even one.

It didn’t unnerve her though. Because Sara gone quiet was a thoughtful Sara, one who was picking her words carefully. Sara was good with words, and good with getting a desired reaction with them, but she didn’t always consult her own feelings first. That was, Five hoped, what she was doing now.

After what felt like eons, long enough that the water was starting to go cool, Sara sighed, and looked over at Five. “I’m sorry.”

"For what?" Five asked, wanting clarification. She was good at reading between the lines, but now wasn’t the time for subtlety or assumptions. Sara smiled ruefully.

"I’m sorry I didn’t make it _clear_ that I love you.” She said, pressing her hands up against the glass paneled door. “I didn’t know there was ever a doubt, I swear.”

"I love you too." Five blurted, heart fluttering. "But that’s not all-"

"I know." Sara cut in. "I know. I tell you what. I called Dan last night. I was going to go visit him and the boys this weekend. Come with me. It's past time you meet them."

Five smiled, and nodded. “Okay.”

"Do you forgive me, dear?" Sara asked, the tightness in her mouth betraying her light tone. Five pushed the shower door all the way open, grabbing the front of Sara’s shirt with one soaking hand to drag her in for a scorching kiss.

She broke it once the water started running cold enough that she had to reach back and turn it off. Sara ran a hand up her chilled, slick back. Her smile held a hundred promises, and Five wanted to hear them all.

"Promise me something, Five." She said, tossing a towel over her head once she’d stepped out. Five rubbed it over her head and made a small hm? noise in response. “Anything like that happens again, you tell me. I don’t care how small it is. You feel bad about something, you tell me.” She gave a fond, if tired, smile.

"Yeah." She replied breezily. Her mind unknotted and her anxieties soothed, the problem was all but forgotten. Sara’s expression went serious though, and she brought her hands up to cup Five’s face.

"I mean it Five. I want you to promise." She said with a gentle shake. Five raised an eyebrow.

"Don’t trust me?"

"Not at all." Sara rolled her eyes.

"I promise," said Five.

"Good." Sara smiled, her hands sliding down Five’s arms and down to the swell of her arse. "Now then. From what I’ve heard, most times after a row, serious couples tend to have a makeup session?"

Five bit down on a smile.

The next day she circled the date on the calendar. Sara didn’t ask, but a year later, to the day, she gave Five a fold up knife with a ribbon stuck to it.

'Better than roses,' Five thought with a smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please note, I'm not from the UK, so if you saw anything that needs a bit of brit picking, feel free to let me know and I'll fix it.


End file.
